Cartridge-loading machine.



PATENTED FEB. 27, 1906,

3. B. KIMBE'R. CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 15, 1904.

6 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ATTOR/VEVJ PATBN TED FEB. 27, 1906.

S. B. KIMBBR. CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 15,1904.

6 8HEET8-SHBET 2.

. Arm/mm s. is. KIMBER.

CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE. APPLICATION mm 001'. 15, 1904.

PATENTED FEB. 27, 1906.

. 6 SHHETB SHEET 3.

FIG 3.

WITNESSE: llvimfg 721. 777

Amp/ma No. 813,436. PATBNTED FEB. 27, 1906.

S. B. KIMBER.

CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHIBUEJ. APPLICATION rmm 001315, 1904.

YPATBNTED FEB. 27, 1906 s. B. KIMBBR. summer: LOADING momma.

APPLIGATION FILED OUT. 15,1904.

a smims-s1mm s.

INVENTOR BY I w Y ATTORNEKS WITNESSES:

News runs. um. Lmm. Wunmbm. n c.

Nn .s1a,4a5. I TATEHTED FEB,27,1906.

saxmmm.

CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 15, 1904.-

s mama-Inn: l.-

WITNESSES: I/VVENTUR b ,b mw BMW/ 921 9. (@1 5 By nrrormzrs view of some of I the plungerrod locking latches and their "UNrrED STATE? PAEENT oE roE.

sIMEoN BURRITT KIMBER, or MARQUETTE, 1VIIOHIGAN, AssicNoRro THE I. on row DE NE oUEs POWDER COMPANY, or WILMINGTON, DELAWARE. A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

CARTRIDGE-LOADING MACHlNE.

To all whmw it puny concern Be it known that I, SIMEON BURRITT KIM- BER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marquette, county of Marquette, and State of Michigan, have invented a. new and useful Improvement in Cartridge-LoadingMaable such pressure to be adjusted; to enable aplurality of shells to be simultaneously packed by independently-operated tamps; to lock each tamp from moving on any stroke in front of the position to which it has been forced by the explosive packed by it on the previous stroke; to automatically lock each tamp independently after it has completed the packing of a shell; to simultaneously throw into action all the tamps and restore the parts to theirinitial position after one set of shells is loaded and anew set placed in position for loading, and generally to perfect the operation of the machine.

The invention consists of the means for ef- .;cting the above-named objects and of certain general and specific details of construction, all as fully hereinafter described, and particularly claimed.

In the drawings, Figures 1 and 1 represent a s de elevation of the machine, partially in section; Figs. 2 and 2, a plan. view of the machine; Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional eleva; tion of a portion of the machine; Fig. 4, a detailed side view of the sliding block; Fig. 5, a section on line 5 5 of Fig.4; Fig. 6, a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. '3; Fig. 7, a rear end the roller-cases, showing also spring-actuated catches; Fig. 8, an enlarged sectional elevation of the shuttle and explosive eceptacle; 9 of Fig. 3 Fig. 10, a perspective view of an unloaded shell, ar Fig. 11 a similar view of a loaded shell.

a is the frame,having the mc ined beams a.

b b are rails forming the track for the reciprocating parts, said rails being of Lsectron and secured to the inclined beams. Fig. 6.)

Specification of Letters Patent. Ap licatioil filed October 15. 1904. Serial No. 228.554

f supported alongthcse orifices.

Fig. 9, a section on the line 9' (See Patented. Feb. 27,1906.

(1 is a plunger cross-head or carriage, said carriage avmg a shoe d at each side embracmg the top flange of the corresponding rail. b,

the carriage being thereby sli able back and I forthon the rails.

e e are roller-case's bolted on the carriage d,

each roller-case having a vertical wing and a wing somewhat inclined to the horizontal and provided with a channel extending through its lengthfor the rece tionof rollers e. The section of the channe connecting its vertical and inclined portions is curved to permit the rollers to slide freely therein.

d d arebrackets bolted on the carriage d.

On top of the brackets is bolted a cross-piece d, slotted to form guides for the vertical presser rods e3 These pressererods carry weights 0- and extend down within the upright wing of the roller 4 channels and bear upon the rollers e.

d" is a strip connecting the brackets d d and having holes to receive the teats c on the hacks ofthe roller-case's. i I

if], &'c., are plunger-rods which extend through orifices extending longitudinally through the inclined wings of the roller-cases e and are provided with riders f, which extend within the inclined portions of the rollerchannels and take the thrust communicated by the rollers. The forward endsof the plunger-rods f are pinned to'flexible rods f (preferably of wood,) which are jointed at their forward ends by means of the guide blocksf with the tampsf.

The shells 9 (see Fig, 10); are held in a wooden shuttle g (see Figs. 8 and 9) and in alinement with the tamps, and the dynamite or other explosive is fed from an inclined pan .q into a receptacle g into and through which the tamps are adapted to pass, the front and rear walls of this receptacle having longitudina-l orifices and thetampsf sliding in guides g rotates within the receptacle, forcing the explosive in front'of the tam'ps as they are drawn back.

j c is the main driving-shaft. c is a pulley thereon, belted to a pulley c on the shaft 0 carried thereby. The weights 6 carried on A stirrer the pressure-rods e impose a certain pressure on the rollers e which pressure is communicated to the plungers f. As the .tamps press the explosive into the shells this pressure 13 imparted to the ex losive, thus insurmg that all the shells she the packed with a uniform pressure. Each set of roller-cases, plunger-rods, tamps, &c., is entirely independent of the other sets, except so far as they are operated in unison by the carria e. As the explosive may not be distributed with absolute uniformity throughout the rece tacle 9 there may be some variation in t e amount of the explosive'packed in the several shells at the end of each forward stroke of the carriage d. Each tamp and its corresponding plunger-rod will therefore be forced back a distance corresponding to the amount of the explosive taken in, forcing up the rollers and weighted presser-rods correspondingly. Each tamp and plunger is held in this new position relative to its roller-case by the following means: Each plunger-rod f is rovided with a grooved or ratcheted upper ace. 0 is a latch or look, pivoted between 1ts ends to the roller-carriage. As the plunger-rod is retracted the latch drops into a groove on the plunger-rod, holding it from moving forwardly relatively to its corresponding roller-case and locking each tam from moving on any stroke in front of the position to which it has been forced by the explosive packed by it on the previous stroke. Thus the plunger-rod is caught farther back at each stroke until the shell is completely filled.- When any shell is thus filled, the hooked end f 5 of the corresponding plungerrod is forced over the lip k of a transverselyextending dogging-bar or lock 71:, L-shaped in crosssection, (supported as hereinafter described,) and is held stationary while the carriage continues its motion independently until all the shells are filled and all the plunger-rods are engaged by the dogging-bar it. As the carriage is drawn back the rider f on the plunger-rod so engaged by the doggingbar It engages the latch o and throws it up I out of the way into engagement with the shells.

catch 0. The catch 0 is carried at the lower end of a square rod 0 sliding in brackets 0 and pressed down by the coil-spring 0 As the latch o is thrown up it pushes up the catch 0 until it enters the groove 0? in the catch.

Having now described the operation of filling all the shells of any single shuttle and the way in which all the plunger-rods and their corresponding tamps are rendered inoperative, I will now describethe undogging mechanism, whereby the plunger-rods are released and all the parts restored to their original position preparatory to packing another set of This mechanism is thrown into action by the operator as soon as the shuttle and in alinement with and adapted to be raised by the arm I when the lever is lifted by means of the cord Z.

l is a lever pivoted at one end to the stationary guide n" and connected at its other end by means of the platcco.mection with the lever Z, whereby the lifting of lcvcr also effects the lifting of lever Z".

Z is a pin secured to the lever n is a in in the sliding block 7'1. (See Figs. 4 an 5.) The pin 12 has a square head which fits in a groove across the block '22.

n is a spring normally pressing the pin 11 downwardly into the recess 12 in the guide 11.

When the cord is manipulated, as before described, to lift the lever 1", the pin cngagcs the square end of pin 21 and moves the pin upwardly. As the carriage (7 reaches the forward end of its stroke the pin 1'1 isproj ected into the jaw (Z formed in the lowerface of a piece (1, secured to the carriage. On the back stroke of the carriage, therefore, the block 91, moves with the carriage, sliding backwardlyin the guide 12, the pin 72 being held up by reason of its contact with the unrecessed part of guide n.

m is a reach-arm pinned to block 21.

m is a lever secured at one end to the shaft m and at the other end to the reacharm m.

m represents levers secured to the shaft m represents reach-arms pivoted to the ends of levers m The dogging-bar 7c is secured between the reach-arms m At-either end of the dogging-bar are pivoted two rollers it, which fit into the groove 10 of the stationary guide 7w, secured to the inclined beam (1. As the block it moves back, as before described, the

dogging-bar 7: through the mechanism just described is moved forwardly, its rear wall pushing the plunger-rodsf forwardly, which causes the angle-bars f on top of plungerrods f to knock down the latches 0 into their normal position, the groove 0" in the catch 0 being so formed that the latch is easily released therefrom. Thcgroove 7; of the guide It" dips downwardl; at its forward end, so that as the dogging-bar Ir completes its forward movement it is guided downwardly, so as to entirely release the plunger-rodsf. On the next forward movement of the carriage (Z the sliding block )1 is returned to its normal position of rest, the spring 12 ])l0 ](('t ing the square head of pin 11 within the recess n therebv disengaging the block 72 from fore described.

The machine is adapted to fill shells of different sizes, as the connectibn between the plunger-rods f and tamps f is sufficiently flexible to enable the tamps to be offset with respect to the plungersfthat is, a tamp need not be connected tothe plunger-rod immediately back of it; but it may be connected to one of the adjacent plunger-rods on either side of the one immediately back of it,'the wooden rods f 2 beingeasily bent and capable of being set over two or three places without appreciable buckling. The number of roller. casings and plunger-rods should equal the maximum number of shells that are inserted in a shuttle. When such maximum number of shells are to be loaded, all the tamps are used, and each tamp is connected with the plunger rod directly back of it. When larger shells are to be loaded and a shuttle containing a smaller number of shells consequently used, a corresponding number of tamps are employed and guides adapted to' such tamps substituted for those shown, and some at least of the tampsawill be connected with "plunger-rods not'directly back of it, although there will be no necessity of setting over any of the rods f 2 more than one place. The advantages of a machine that is capable of packing shells of any size are obvious.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protect byLetters Patent, is

1. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps adapted to enter the shells, of a reciprocating carriage having roller-channels, said channels being curved for at least a part of their length, weighted rollers in said channels, and means enabling the rollers to operate the tamps, the weighted rollers forcing the tamps forwardly with a yielding pressure, as the carriage moves forwardly, substanwally as described.

2'. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supportwitheach tamp, a tension device for each plunger and acting at an angle thereto, a roller-case for each plunger, said roller-case having a continuous channel curved for at least a part of its length, rollers in said channel acting upon said plunger and acted upon by said tension device, and means to reciprocate the roller-cases. v

\ 3. ,In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps, of roller-cases each having a continuous channel, a portion of which is vertical, while another portion extends-at an angle to the vertical, rollers adapt-1 ed to traverse the channel, Presser-rods enlng means and tamps, of a plunger connected tering the vertical portions of the channels, plungers connected with the tamps, entering the other portions of the channels, each set of rollers being thus confined between a resser-rod and a plunger, and means to reciprocate the rollercases, thereby causing the tamps to enter the shells and pack the explosive therein with a yielding pressure, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for packing explosive shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps, of a carriage, means to reciprocate the carriage, roller-cases suppbrted on the carriage, each roller-case having a continuous channel a portion of which is vertical while another portion extends toward the shell supporting means, rollers within the channel and adapted to move back and forth therein, presser-rods entering the vertical portions'of the channels and engaging the rollers therein, plungers entering the:

other portions of the channels and engaging the rollers therein, and rods connecting the plungers withthe tamps, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps adapted to enter the shells, of reciprocating means to project the tamps into the shells including yielding pressure devices adapted to permit the tam s .to be retracted by the explosive packed t eraby, and locks adapted to hold the tamps in their retracted position after each loading action .of the tamps, substantially as de- A scribed.

6. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination with. shell-supporting means and tamps adapted to enter the shells, of reciprocating means to project the tamps into the shells including yielding pressure devices adapted to permit the tamps to be re-. tractedby the explosive packed thereby, a

look adapted to hold each tamp in its retracted position after each loading action, a lock adapted to hold each tamp out of-operalrc tion after the loading of its corresponding shell is completed, and means to unlock the tamps. i

7. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps adapted to enter theshells, of a carriage yielding pressure devices supported on the carriage but capable oiindependent movement relative thereto, connecting means between said yielding 'pressure devices and the tamps, means to ramp- IIR rocate the carriage thereby projecting the tamps into the shellwith a yielding pressure and causing the explosive packed therein toretract the tamps relatively to the carriage, and locks adapted to hold the tamps in their retracted positions after each loading action of thetamps, substantially as described.

8 In a machine forpacking explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamp s, of a plunger connected with each tamp,- atension device for each plunger and acting at an-angle thereto, roller- .calses for the plungers, said roller-cases hav ing continuous channels curved for at least vapart of their length, riders secured to and 9. .In a machine for packing ex losives in shells, the combination, with she l-supportmg means and tamps, of a plunger connected with each tamp, a tension device for each plunger and-acting at an angle thereto, rollercases for the plungers, said roller-cases havingtcontinuous channels curved for at least a part of their length, riders secured to and forming part of the. lungers, and extending within the portion of the roller-channels adjacent to the plungers, rollers in the channels engaging said riders, locks adapted when in o erative position to engage and hold the p ungers in their retracted position after each loading action of the tamps, said locks being in line of travel of said riders and adapted to be engaged by said riders when the plungers are retracted to a determinate extent and move said looks into inoperative position. i

10. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means tamps and plungers connected with the tamps, of a reciprocating carriage, yielding pressure devices supported on the carriage ut capable of independent movement relative thereto and adapted to actuate the plungers as the carriage moves forwardly, a lock for each plunger adapted to hold the lunger in-its retracted position after each oading action, and a lock adapted to engage each plunger when the latter is moved to its extreme retracted position after the loading of the shell is completed and hold said plunger out of operation during the subsequent reciprocations of the carriage, substantially as described .11. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination with shell-supporting means andtamps, of plungers connected with the tamps, rollers, rollercases, each having a channel for the reception of the rollers and an orifice through which said plunger extends, said plunger also extending Within the roller-channel and engaged by said rollers, tension devices engaging the rollers in the channels and causing them to press against the plungers, and means to reciprocate' the roller-cases thereby causing the tamps to enter the shells and, together with the plungers, to be retracted relatively to the roller-cases, a lock adapted to hold the plungers in their retracted positions after eacq loading action of the tamps, and a doggingbar adapted to engage and hold each plunger out of operation after the loading of its corresponding shell is completed,'substantiallv as described. v

12. In a machine for packing ex losives in shells, the combination, with she -supporting means, tamps and plungers connected with the tamps,'of a reciprocating carriagle,

yielding ressure devices supported on t carriage ut capable of. independent movement relative thereto and adapted to actuate the plungers as the carriage moves forwardly, a lock for each plunger adapted to hold the lunger in its retracted position after each oading action, a lock adapted to engage each plunger when the latter is moved to its extreme retracted position after the loading of the shell is completed and hold said plunger out of operation during the subsequent reciprocations of the carriage, and unlocking carriage, each roller-case having an orifice" through which the plunger extends, and also a roller-channel, rollers within the channel, tension devices engaging said rolle1 s, a rider secured to and forming part of each plunger and extending within the roller-channel, the upper face of the plunger. being transversely grooved, a latch adapted to engage each plunger and-hold it from moving forwardly relative to the carriage after it is retracted at the end of each=loading action, a dogging-bar adapted to engage and hold each plunger out of operation after its loading operation is completed, said rider being arranged to dis-.

engage said latch from the plunger when the latters engagement with t e dogging-bar 1s effected, and a springressed catch adapted to hold the disengaged atch out of operation, substantially as described.

14. In a machine for packing ex losives in shells, the combination, with she -supporting means, tamps, and plungers connected with the tamps, a reciprocating carriage, yielding pressure devices on the carriage adapted to actuate the lungers as the carriage moves forwardly, a ock adapted to hold each plunger out of o eration when the load ing of its correspon in shell is completed, a normally stationary siding block, connections therefrom to the lock, and means to operatively engage said block with'the carriage, thereby sliding said block and operating the lock to, unlock all the plungers, substantially as described. 4

15. In a machine for packing explosives in by the carriage, through the block shells, the combination, with shellsupportingmeans and tamps, of a reciprocating c'aradapted to hold each tampout of operation when the loading of its Corresponding shell is completed, a' normally stationary sliding block, connections therefrom to the lock,-a pin on said block' adapted to engage said carwage, a spring normally holding said pin out of engagement with said carriage, and means to move the pininto engagement with the carriage, thereby causing the latter to actuate the block and operate the lock to unlock all the tamps, substantially as described.

16. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps, of a reciprocating carriage, yielding pressure devices on the carriageadapted to actuate the tamps, a lock adapted to hold each tamp out of operation when the loading of its corresponding shell is completed, a normally stationary sliding block, connections therefrom to the lock adapted when operated to move the look into positionto-unlock all the tamps, a guide in which said block slides, a pin on said block adapted to engage said carriage, a spring normaly holding said pin out of engagement with said carriage and into engagement with a recess in said guide, and means to move the pin out of engagement with the guide and into engagement with the carriage, thereby causing thebloek-to move with the carria e and operatingthe connections to the lock, substantially as described.

17. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means and tamps, of a reciprocating carriage, yielding pressure devices on the car riage adapted to actuate the tamps, a lock adapted to hold each tamp out of operation when the loading of its corresponding shell is completed, a normally stationary sliding block, connections therefrom to the look, a lever, means for moving the same, an arm secured to said lever, a second lever pivoted -on-the blockand adapted to be operated by said arm when the first lever is operated, a stationary guide in which said block slides, a third level" pivoted thereon, a connection -therefrom to the second lever whereby the second lever operates the third lever, and means actuated by the third lever to cause said block to engage'with saidcarriage,where and con- ,.'j .nections, operates the lock to unlock all the j," tamps, substantially'as described.

18. In a machine for packing explosives in with shell-support-- shells, the combination, I ing means-and tamps, oi a reciprocating earriage, yielding pressure devices on the carriage adapted to actuate the tamps, a lock adapted to hold each tamp out or operation is completed, a normally stationarysliding block, connections therefrom to the l o ck' adapted when operated'to move the 'lock into posltion to unlock all; thetamps, a guide in; wh ch said block slides, a pin on said block" acm w ngag sa d c rr a'ga p -i mally holding said pin 'out 'of engagement with said carriage and into engagement a recess in said guide, a lever, means form'ov ing the same, an arm on said lever, asecond lever pivoted to theblock and adapted to be operated by said arm, a third lever pivoted" on the guide, a connection from the second lever to the third lever, and a pin on the third lever adapted to engage the pin in the block and move it out of engagement with the guide and into engagement with the carriage, sub stantially as described. i

19. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means, tamps and plungers connected with the tamps, of a reciprocating carriage, yielding pressure devices on the carriage adapted to actuate the plungers as thecarriage moves forwardly, a dogging-bar adapted to engage and hold each plunger out of operation when the loading of its corresponding shell is com pleted, a guide along which said dogging-bar is adapted to move out of locking position, and means to move said dogging-bar along the guide, thereby unlocking all the plungers,

substantially as described.

20. In a machine for packing explosives shells, the combination, with shell-supporting means, tamps and plungers connected with the tamps, of a reciprocating carriage,

yielding pressure devices on the carriage adapted to actuate the plungers as the car riag'e moves forwardly, and normally'station ary means engaging and holding eachplunger out of operation when the loading of'its cor responding shell is completed and moyable to unlock the plungers and return them to op erative position, substantially as described.

21. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination, with shell-support ingmeans, tamps and plungers, havinghooked rear ends, connected at theirv forward ends with the tamps, of a reciprocating.carriage, yielding pressure devices adapted to actuate the plungers as the carriage movesiorwardly,

a dogging-bar having a lip with which the hooked rear. end oi" each plunger engages when the loading of its'corresponding shell is completed and arear wall, and meansto move said dogging-bar forwardly and downwardly, thereby simultaneously unlocking EStlid plungers and pusl'iing thenrinto their IOO initial operative positions, substantially described. M

In a machine for packing explosi'ves'in shells, the combination, withshelhsuppore i ng means, tamps and plungers havinghooked it rear ends, connected at their forward ends When the loading of its corresponding shell 1 with the tamps, of a reciprocating carriage,

which the hooke yielding pressure devices adapted to actuate the plungers as the carriage moves forwardl a guide aving grooves extending generally 1n the direction of extension of the plungers but Whose forward end dipsdownwardly, a dogging-bar, rollers thereon slidable in said grooves, said dogging-bar having a li with 'rear end of each p unger engagles when the loading of its corres ondmg s ell 1s completed and a rear wal and means to move said dogging-bar forwardly, thereby restoring the plungers to their operatlve position and unlocking them, substantially ass described.

23K Inainachine for packing ex losives in shells, combination, with she l-supportin means, tam'ps and plungers connected with the tamps", of a reciprocating carria e,

yielding pressure devices supported on t e carriage and adapted to actuate the plungers a lock for each as the carriage moves forward plunger adapted to hold the plunger in its retracted position after each loading action, a lock adapted to engage each plunger when the latter is moved to its extreme retracted position after the loading of the shell is completed and hold'said plunger out of operation during thesubsequent reciprocation. of the carriage, unlocking means to disengage the first-named look from the lunger when the plungers engagement with the last-named lock is effected, and means to disen age the last-named lock from, and rengage t e firstnamed lock with, all the plungers, substantially as described.

24. In a machine for packing ex losives in shells, the combination, with she l-su porting means, tamps, plungers connecte with the tamps, of a carriage, means to reci rocate the carriage, rollercases supporte on the carriage, each roller-case having an orifice through which-the lunger extends and also a roller-channel, rol ers within'the channel, tension devices engaging said rollers, a rider secured to and formin part of each plun er and extendin within tfle roller-channel, t e upper face of t eplunger being transversely grooved, a latch adapted to engage each plunger and hold it from moving forwardly relative to the carriage after it is retracted at the end of each loading action, a

normally stationary dogging-bar adapted toengage and hold each plunger out of operation after its loading operation is completed, said rider being adapted to disengage said latch from the plun er when the latters engagement with the o ging-bar is eflected, a catch adapted to hol the disen aged'latch out of operation, means to move tli bar forwardly and downwardly, thereb undog ing all the plungers and restoring them to t eir initial operative position, and a device on each plunger adapted, in the forward movement 0 e doggingv the plunger. to disengage the ent sizes may scribed.

25. In a machine for packing ex losives in shells, the combination, with she l-supporting means and tamps adapted to enter the shells, of plungers, means to reciprocate the plungers, and intermediate rods between the plungersand tamps, each of which is movable to connect one of the tamps with one of a plurahty of plungers, whereby shells of differe loaded, substantially as described.

26. In a machine forpacking ex losives in shells, the combination with she -support ing means and tamps adapted to'enter the shells, of a carriage and operating means therefor, yieldin pressure devices supported on the carriage ut capable of independent movement relative thereto, plungers actuated by the yieldin ressure devices, and flexible rods each of w 1011 is adapted to connect one of the tamps with one of-a plurality of plungers.

27. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination of the tam s, the prlungers and the flexible rods attache to the out ends of the plungers and jointed to the rear ends of the tamps, substantially as de scribed. I

, 28. In a machine for packin explosives in shells, the combination, with p ungers, means to reciprocate the plun ers, and tamp-actuating rods connected with the plungers and movable to connect with'tamps more or. less offset with relation to the plungers.

29. In a machine for packin explosives in shells, the combination, with p ungers, means to reciprocate the plungers, and temp-actuating rods connected with the plungers, said rods having a limited flexibility whereby thev may be connected with tamps spaced at diferent distances apart and some or all of which are more or less offset with relation to the plungers.

30. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the'reciprocating roller-eases, each of which contains a channel having a vertical end portion, an end ortion at an angle to the vertical portion and a curved portion con-' necting the end portions, rollers movable in the channel, weighted presser-rods inserted in the vertical ortion of the channel and bearing upon t e rollers, tamp-actuating plungers extending into the other end portion of the channel, and tamps connected with the plungers, whereby the tamps when in action are each at all times subjected to a uniform pressure, substantially as described.

31. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the L-sha ed do ging-bar having a lipat the forwar end 0 one member, combined with the inde endently-actuated plun-- gers having hookec rear ends, whereby the dogging-bar, when stationary, holds the plungers inoperative when the latter are retracted, means for moving the dogging-bar forwardly, thereby causing the other member of the dogging-bar to push said plungers into operative position, and a forwardly'-extend- 'ing guide/chafing a downwardly-extending front end'which, in its forward movement, the dogging-bar engages and which determines the direction of movement of the doggin -bar when the latter is actuated, substantial y as described. i 32. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, in combination, the reciprocating plungers, yielding pressure devices engaging the plungers, means for moving the yielding pressure devices forwardly thereby actuating the plungers, a latch normally adapted to engage the plunger and lock it from moving for wardly, relatively to the yielding pressure devices, a locking member on each plunger, a dogging-bar common to all the plungers and adapted to engage the locking members thereof when the same has been retracted and hold the plungers inoperative, a rider on each plunger adapted when the plunger has been retracted to disengage the latch from the plunger, and a latch-unlocking device on each plunger adapted, when the plunger is restored to its operative position, to restore the latch to its normal position.

33. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, in combination, the reciprocating plungers, a rider on each plunger, yielding pres sure devices engaging. the rider, means for moving the yielding pressure devices forwardly thereby through the riders actuating the plungers, a latch normally adapted to engage the plunger and lock it from moving for- Wardly relatively to the yielding pressure. devices but' adapted to be disengaged from the plunger by the rider when the plunger is retracted a determinate distance, a catch adapted to engage the disengaged latch, and

an unlocking device on each plunger adapted when the plunger is moved forwardly from its retracted. position to disengage the latch from the catch. v Y

34. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, in combination, the reciprocating plungers, a rider on each plunger, yielding pressure devices engaging the rider, means for moving the yielding pressure devices forwardly thereby through the riders actuating the plungers, a latch normally adapted to engage the plunger and lock it from moving forwardly relatively to the yielding pressure devices but adapted to be disengaged from the plunger bythe rider when the plunger ,is retracted a determinate distance, a dogging-bar adapted to successively hold all the retracted plungers inoperative and also move them forwardlyinto operative position,

'means to actuate the dogging-bar, a catch adapted to engage the disengaged latch, and an unlocking device on each plunger adapted when the plunger is moved. forwardly from its retracted position to disengage the latch from the catch. I

35. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the reciprocating carriage and plungers carried thereby, combined with a lock adapted when stationary to'lock all the plungers out of action and when moved to unlock all the plungers, a sliding block normally st ationary, connections from the block to the lock, and manually-controlled means to en gage the block with the carriage, thereby moving the block and lock, substantially as described.

36. In a machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination with the tamps and the plungers connected thereto, of a carriage and reciprocating means therefor, independ ent yielding pressure devices actuating each plunger and reciprocated by the carriage, a lock holding each plunger from moving forwardly with relation to the carriage after each loading action, means to look all the plungers from operating when moved backwardly to a determinate distance and means to restore all the plungers to their initial operative position, substantially as described.

37. In a. machine for packing explosives in shells, the combination with the tamps and the plungers connected thereto, of a carriage and reciprocating means therefor, independent yielding pressure devices actuating each plunger and reciprocated by the carriage,-a lock holding each lunger from moving forwardly, a doggingar adapted to engage and hold each plunger out of operation when said plunger is moved backwardly to a determinate distance, a sliding block normally sta tionary and out of engagement with the. car-* riage and connected with the lock so as to disengage the same from the plungers when the block 1s operated, and manually-controlled means to engage the block with the carriage, thereby operating the block, substantially as described.

In testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand, at Marquette, Michie gan, on this 30th day of September, 1904.

' SIMEON BURRITT KIMBER.

Witnesses SAML. E. BYRNE, J. G. REYNOLDS, GREEN K. HARPER. 

